L'ATTITUDE NETWORK NEWS

OCTOBER 05, 2020

Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Addresses U.S. Latinos at L’ATTITUDE

In an address at L’ATTITUDE 2020, and in an MSNBC simulcast interview with Stephanie Ruhle, Senior Business Correspondent at MSNBC, the former Vice-president talked about U.S. Latinos and the U.S. economy.

Vice-president Biden said he believes the success and prosperity of Latino Americans is indispensable to the success and prosperity of the United States and of all Americans. He said, “Latinos make incredible contributions to the economic health of our nation. You are driving growth at an incredible rate through your entrepreneurship and your energy.”

Biden stated that the only measure of economic strength Donald Trump cares about is the stock market. “I measure it in how the mom and pop businesses are doing— how are the Latino-owned businesses doing, the ones that are keeping communities all across our country running,” he said.

Biden said he believes we need to reward work in this country, not just wealth, give small and medium-businesses owners a break, not the big corporations. He also noted it is important to pay people a living wage and treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve—especially our frontline workers who are putting it all on the line for us during this pandemic

“Latinos helped lead us back from the last recession, and I am confident that you will lead the way again,” he said. “That’s why my plan to build our economy back better is focused on helping build equity for everyone across our society, including among Latinos. My plan will get $50 billion in capital flowing to small businesses, especially minority-owned small businesses, and make another $100 billion in low-interest business loans available to these businesses.”

Recognizing that U.S. Latinos produce $2.6 trillion in GDP, he said that means if we invest in Latinos, we’re making one of the smartest possible investments with the greatest possible returns for our nation for a long, long time to come.

Report shows U.S. Latinos achieving world-leading economic growth

The Latino Donor Collaborative produced its third annual LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report, which was released at L’ATTITUDE, and the numbers are remarkable. The U.S. Latino GDP has grown from the $2.3 trillion reported last year to $2.6 trillion, an 8.7% growth from 2017 to 2018. That growth rate means the U.S. Latino GDP grew 21% faster than that of India, and 30% faster than China’s GDP. “This is a remarkable economic story in America, and U.S. businesses simply cannot afford to ignore this cohort,” said Ana Valdez, Executive Director of the Latino Donor Collaborative.

The report also showed that Latino real consumption is leading the American economy, growing 133% faster than non-Latino consumption from 2010 to 2018. Economists remind us that about 70% of GDP is tied to consumption, again demonstrating just how critical U.S. Latinos are to our economy.

In noting that from 2010 to 2018 U.S. Latino GDP grew 72% faster than non-Latino GDP, Sol Trujillo, co-founder of L’ATTITUDE and the Latino Donor Collaborative, said “Looking at the economic growth of this cohort since ten years ago shows that U.S. Latino economic power has crossed administrations, and is really the result of our unrivaled workforce participation rate, rate of entrepreneurship, educational attainment growth, and frankly our patriotic belief in the American dream and our drive to achieve it.”

He went on to note, “In spite of the headwinds U.S. Latinos have faced in recent years coming from anti-immigration policies and anti-Latino rhetoric, U.S. Latino GDP growth was 4 and a half times the growth rate of non-Latino GDP from 2017 to 2018. Making that even more remarkable is that the U.S. Latino cohort is the most under-capitalized cohort in our country, so the fact we have achieved world-leading economic status is truly a testament to every working Latino is this country. They truly are driving the New Mainstream Economy.”

As the only analysis of its kind published each year, the report is based on calculations of major GDP components aggregated across more than 70 industrial sectors of economic activity. It provides a detailed, conservative, bottoms-up construction of the total economic impact of U.S. Latinos.

This fact-based view of the large and growing economic contributions made by U.S. Latinos was researched and developed by Dr. Matthew Fienup, Chief Economist of the Center for Economic Research & Forecasting at California Lutheran University, and Dr. David Hayes-Bautista, Chief Demographer, Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture.

The Untold Story of America’s economy revealed at L’ATTITUDE

In his state of the economy address to a national L’ATTITUDE audience on September 24, Sol Trujillo, L’ATTITUDE co-founder, highlighted publicly sourced facts and data that demonstrate our nation’s economy was already in a tailspin prior to coronavirus. He showed that GDP, the true measure of how an economy is performing, has been falling during the past four years, accompanied by a decline in our workforce growth, the number of manufacturing businesses, the number of family-owned farms, and no growth in business formations. “In fact, had it not been for U.S. Latinos starting new businesses, our country would have experienced net negative new business formations,” Trujillo said.

He went on to note, “In spite of the headwinds U.S. Latinos have faced in recent years coming from anti-immigration policies and anti-Latino rhetoric, U.S. Latino GDP growth was 4 and a half times the growth rate of non-Latino GDP from 2017 to 2018. Making that even more remarkable is that the U.S. Latino cohort is the most under-capitalized cohort in our country, so the fact we have achieved world-leading economic status is truly a testament to every working Latino is this country. They truly are driving the New Mainstream Economy.”

Most alarming for many was his data regarding the wealth disparity in America. The richest 5 percent of families is the only group whose income has grown since the great recession and now accounts for 79 percent of all U.S. wealth. More shocking is that the United States now ranks 108th out of 159 countries for the widest gap between rich and poor, and is significantly worse than Russia, Iran, and Kenya, for example. Trujillo noted that an economy simply cannot be sustained by only 5 percent of the population.

He then went on to show just how important the U.S. Latino cohort is to our country’s economic health. They are the second largest cohort in our country behind Anglo-Americans. They represent nearly 1 in 5 citizens, and among the young Alpha generation, that figure grows to nearly 1 in 3. According to the Department of Labor Statistics, the 2050 workforce will be nearly one-third U.S. Latino, while only 14% Black American and 10% Asian American. Meanwhile, the number of U.S. Latino-owned small businesses in our country is double or more than double that of other minority cohorts.

As the largest, fast-growing population in the country, with real consumption growing 70% faster than the rest of the country, and producing annual GDP of $2.6 trillion, Trujillo concluded that “Without question, U.S. Latinos are essential to America’s GDP growth and therefore the financial security of every American.”

To flourish, he said requires that capital starts being deployed to this cohort, from fund managers, Latino-owned funds, banks, and institutions. “U.S. Latinos must have access and connections to capital so they can expand their businesses, deploy resources, invest in technology, and create jobs,” he noted. “With capital flowing to education, entrepreneurship, and business expansion, more people can create wealth, and that stimulates the economy. Expanding the deployment of capital is a priority for our country so we can have an economy that works for “the many” and not just “the few,” he concluded.

CEO Townhall gets the attention of corporate America as leading CEOs describe the impact the New Mainstream Economy is having on their businesses.

What do you get when you bring together Jose E. Cil, CEO of Restaurant Brands International Inc, John Furner, President and CEO of Walmart US, Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, and Mary Mack, Senior Executive Vice President, CEO of Consumer & Small Business Banking at Wells Fargo & Company, Roger Crandall, CEO Mass Mutual Life Insurance, and Jimmy Etheredge, CEO, North America, Accenture?

The answer came at L’ATTITUDE as Moderator Sol Trujillo, Co-founder of L’ATTITUDE, asked these market leaders about the U.S. Latino impact on their companies. There was overwhelming agreement that this cohort is an economic force in America that companies must recognize as their future.

Ms. Mack noted that the U.S. Latino small business growth has dwarfed that of other segments, and that she believes this cohort will play a key role in leading our country out of our current COVID-related economic challenges.

Mr. Cil said that they have for some time recognized the importance of this cohort and that 30% of their entire organization is Hispanic. He said his company is very focused on understanding Latino consumers and has developed specific communication plans for reaching these valuable customers.

“It’s not only about growth, but also about talent,” said Mr. Etheredge. He noted there is data that demonstrates that innovation is greater in companies that have greater diversity within their employee base. It was agreed that companies need to be comprised at all levels of people who represent your most valuable growth segment, which is the U.S. Latino cohort. As Mr. Crandall put it, “Demographics are our destiny.”

America’s destiny is in the hands of U.S. Latinos, who by 2050 will comprise 31 percent of our country’s workforce, and growing, second in numbers to non-Latino whites who have a shrinking population. In fact, U.S. Latinos are America’s only growth cohort, which is why it has garnered the attention of today’s leading executives.

Four of the biggest names in marketing talk about their mainstream U.S Latino customers.

L’ATTITUDE brought together an unprecedented panel of marketing executives to give their views of the New Mainstream Economy and how the growth of the U.S. Latino cohort is influencing their marketing strategies. The panel included Rick Gomez, EVP, Chief Marketing, Digital and Strategy Officer of Target; Fernando Machado, Global Chief Marketing Officer of Burger King; Diego Scotti, Chief Marketing Officer of Verizon; and Sofia Hernandez, Head of U.S. Business Marketing for TikTok. Suzanne Vranica, Advertising Editor of the Wall Street Journal served as moderator

What quickly became clear from their discussion was how important U.S. Latino customers are to all of their businesses. They also made it clear that they have moved far beyond the old way of marketing to Latinos as a Spanish language segment, and instead talking with them through their mainstream advertising, and making sure they see themselves in the ads together with other mainstream Americans.

Rick Gomez said about six years ago Target realized their customer demographics had changed and the LatinX community had become a significant part of their customer base. He said they pivoted in their marketing and made sure everything they do makes Target a welcoming brand for U.S. Latinos. He noted that representation is absolutely critical and, for example, in a recent Hispanic Heritage Month ad campaign, over 50 percent of everyone involved In creating that campaign were Latinx

Diego Scotti explained when Verizon looked closely at where their growth was coming from, they found that half the growth of their company has come from the U.S. Latino market. He said, “We had to start doing things differently and not think about Latinos as a segment.” He said they began featuring Latinos in their mainstream marketing, and they continue to make sure every communication is inclusive of Latinos. As a result, he said, “We’ve had a 300 percent increase in the return on our investment.”

The story at Burger King is similar according to Fernando Machado who said that their customer base over-indexes Latino, and now represents about 22% of sales. He noted that engaging Latinos in a very authentic way is critical, which means making sure employees working on Burger King communications at all levels are Latino and understand how to be relevant to Latinos. He said it’s a brand priority.

Mr. Gomez explained that Target has taken their strategy one step further as part of an introduction during Hispanic Heritage month of brands that have been created by LatinX entrepreneurs. Target created a Latino-owned icon to highlight this merchandise. He said it’s not just about how we talk to them, but also about how we engage them, and support the entire cohort.

Sofia Hernandez offered advice to brands wanting to improve their marketing results. She said it is imperative to understand who your customer are and then listen to how they want to be represented and talked to; to be willing to do things differently; to engage influencers for your brand and leverage music that connects across cultures; and to be willing to get out of the “advertising box” and go back to power story-telling.

LATINXT at L’ATTITUDE gets Hollywood’s attention

LATINXT, the premier launching pad for presenting new content and celebrating the U.S. Latino voices creating cultural and economic impact in the media, was launched in 2018 with actor and entrepreneur Zoe Saldaña and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.

Multi-platinum Grammy winner, entrepreneur, and official L’ATTITUDE partner, Emilio Estefan, noted, “The first two years of this event have attracted world-class celebrities, breakthrough talent, and national media attention, so we’re really excited about the robust lineup again this year. It is exciting to showcase all the artistry that’s positively impacting American culture and helping to redefine the New Mainstream.”

At this year’s live-cast L’ATITUDE event, nearly 40 Latinx rising talents were introduced across disciplines including showrunners, writers, directors, producers, actors, and trailblazers in the LGBTQ+ space. Notable honorees included Grammy-winning musical artist Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera of Starz’s Vida, and Isabela Merced, who played the titular character in Dora and the Lost City of Gold and who is now establishing herself as a flourishing musical artist.

“We launched our LATINXT initiative to not only celebrate those individuals who are already making an impact in the media, but also to do our part to help close the gap in representation within the entertainment industry. We’re proud to provide all of these talented creatives with this platform to help them gain further recognition – among both their peers and decision-makers – so they can reach the next level of their careers,” said Sol Trujillo, L’ATTITUDE co-founder.

The impact L’ATTITUDE is having in the media and entertainment space was further reinforced in a fireside chat during this year’s event between Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and CEO, Tony Vinciquerra, and L’ATTITUDE co-founder, Sol Trujillo. This session was a follow-up to Mr. Vinciquerra’s 2019 appearance at L’ATTITUDE, where he Mr. Trujillo talked about the importance of U.S. Latinos in the entertainment sector, and what could be done to take advantage of the growth opportunity by featuring U.S. Latinos in leading roles both in front of and behind the camera….in addition to senior management.

Mr. Vinciquerra returned with an exciting update on what has transpired in Sony in the past year, and how they have taken a leadership role in the industry in featuring U.S. Latinos as an important part of their portfolio of actors, actresses, directors, producers, writers, and all key positions in the production infrastructure. As an example, he introduced Camila Cabello as the star of the new 2021 release of the motion picture Cinderella, which will be Cabello’s debut acting performance.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has emerged as the leader in understanding how the New Mainstream Economy relates to the industry’s economic growth.

Will Hollywood finally learn?

Ana Valdez, Executive President or the Latino Donor Collaborative, presented its annual LDC Latinos In Media Report at L’ATTITUDE. She noted that while the 2020 Emmys took great pride in their diversity efforts this year, there was a blatant blind spot about U.S. Latinos. There were zero nominations for Latinx talent in any of the major categories. “As the fastest growing and largest minority in America, the Emmys lack of Latinx spoke volumes,” she said.

She noted it would be a completely different problem if there were no Latinx talent to nominate, but that is not the case. Shows with Latino talent at its center like CBS’ Magnum PI, Bull, and All Rise; FX’s Mayans MC; ABC’s 19th Station; Starz’s Vida; Pop TV’s One Day at a Time; Netflix’s Gentefied, or projects with Latinx stars at the forefront such a Pose’s MJ Rodriguez were snubbed entirely.

Actor, producer, and screenwriter John Leguizamo decided that enough was enough; and boycotted the Emmys this year for the lack of Latinx representation. Many Latinos followed suit, and it’s no coincidence that the ratings fell 29% on TV vs. 2019.

Will Hollywood learn? This year’s Super Bowl show featured Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Demi Lovato and its ratings grew 4% vs. last year; one week later, the Oscars did not include Latinos and dropped 20% vs. the previous year. Latinos are almost 20% of the American population and 25% of all young Americans, yet they only see themselves reflected in leading roles only 1.2% of the time! According to PwC, Latinos identify and watch content that acknowledges them, and that reflects their stories.

Yet again, will Hollywood learn? The entertainment industry is leaving money on the table by ignoring one out of every five Americans, and missing multiple business opportunities when choosing to leave Latinos out of the screen.

Valdez said the hope is that the LDC Latinos In Media Report that follows Latino actors, writers, and directors in shows and films every season, will serve as a benchmark to measure the efforts from networks, platforms, and studios to ‘catch up’ with the new American mainstream.

EDITORIAL

U.S. Latinos have become a world-leading economy, and a competitive advantage

BY SOL TRUJILLO

It’s time to face the facts. As measured by Gross Domestic Product, our economy has been in a decline in terms of economic growth for the past decade, with an accelerating slowdown in the last four to six years, even before coronavirus struck. The facts are that our GDP has been in decline; our workforce growth rate has been in decline; there has been no growth in the number of small businesses in our
country since 2016; the number of manufacturing businesses has declined; family farm bankruptcies are at an eight-year high; real wages for American workers have barely budged; and we’re even losing in the trade war as China’s trade surplus with the U.S. has grown almost 25% during the last three years.

In contrast, some of our strongest GDP growth occurred during the Reagan years, as GDP growth of 3.5 percent was accompanied by 16.5 million new jobs. He understood the value of growing an economy by encouraging investment in areas of growth, and welcoming immigrants to supplement our existing workforce so we could increase goods and services production while creating more jobs. During the Clinton administration, GDP growth was 3.9 percent, and 18.6 million new jobs were created. In contrast, we began 2020 barely hanging on to 2 percent GDP growth, and our workforce has grown by only 4.7 million in the last three years. When I hear talk of this being the greatest economy, it simply isn’t factual.

The fact is, we need to catalyze our economy and return to the growth we experienced in the Reagan and Clinton years. How do we do that? By leveraging the cohort that is growing dramatically faster than all others, creating new businesses at a faster pace, employing millions of Americans, supplying the most productive labor force, and leading consumption. That is the U.S. Latino cohort, which has become, right here within our own country, a world-leading economy.

The data is in the new LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report being released today, which shows the U.S. Latino cohort, already equivalent to the 8th largest economy in the world, with a GDP actually growing faster than many of largest countries in the world. In fact, U.S. Latino GDP is now at $2.6 trillion, an 8.7 percent growth rate from 2017 to 2018, growing 21 percent faster than that of India, and 30 percent faster than China’s GDP. Given its trajectory, U.S. Latino GDP is poised to surpass France, the UK, and India most likely within the next five years.

From 2010 to 2018, U.S. Latino GDP grew 72% faster than non-Latino GDP, while U.S. Latino real consumption has outpaced non-Latino consumption during that time by 133%. This unprecedented economic growth train left the station back in 2005 and
has been gaining speed ever since. With one million U.S. Latinos becoming working age every year, additional to the 23 million already working, plus the previous generation moving up into higher income roles, the education rate dramatically increasing every year, incomes therefore growing and driving consumption, the result is consistent and dramatic growth in GDP.

The good news is the economic momentum of the U.S. Latino cohort has so far been able to overcome the headwinds it has faced from anti-immigration policies and antiLatino rhetoric. Making this growth even more remarkable, is that the U.S. Latino cohort is the most under-capitalized cohort in our country, and therein lies our unparalleled opportunity.

Asset management firms, CEOs, corporate boards, non-profits, everyone responsible for managing assets for returns, investing assets for returns, and allocating resources for returns, should begin deploying their capital where the growth is in our economy, the U.S. Latino cohort. This is our nation’s differentiating competitive advantage versus other large, ageing economies. It is illogical to not be investing in this cohort that is catalyzing growth in every part of our economy, whether they are our essential workers, entrepreneurs, business owners, or professionals. They are enabling our competitiveness, providing healthcare, expanding our culture, and improving the quality of life for all Americans in our country.

As a capitalist, it is imperative, in my opinion, that capitalism in our country must move now from working for just “the few” to working for “the many.” That means making certain the U.S. Latino cohort is catalyzed even further through access and connections to capital, especially getting money into the hands of Latino-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as into the hands of U.S. Latino-founded funds so they can grow and invest more knowledgeably in this cohort, while at the same time making certain U.S. Latinos are active in the most senior positions on boards of directors and in C-suites.

While U.S. Latinos make up nearly 20 percent of our population, and an even higher percent of our net growth, they make up only 4 percent of this country’s executive ranks, and they hold a paltry 3% of board positions. A logical growth strategy for our country, in
addition to increasing capital flow, must include increasing the number of U.S. Latinos in board rooms and executive offices to 15 percent within the next five years. An axiom in business is that leadership in boards must understand their customers and the markets
they serve. Therefore, U.S. Latino representation on boards is key to understanding and serving this leading growth cohort, and taking full advantage of U.S. Latino’s 56 years of Effective Buying Power versus 36 years of non-Latinos. Leadership that understands its growing customer base is essential to catalyzing profitable growth, growing employee wages, and increasing shareholder return.

The additional return on investing in this cohort should also be clear to the three and a half million Baby Boomers who are leaving the workforce, and the Gen X folks following them, because it is this U.S. Latino cohort that will have the largest responsibility for paying taxes that sustain the Social Security and Medicare programs retirees are counting on.

When capital flows to where the growth is, wealth creation occurs. The more people creating wealth, the greater the growth of an economy. That’s how capitalism works in an economy, and by broadening the flow of capital to the U.S. Latino cohort, and engaging U.S. Latinos at the highest levels, we as a country can catalyze the worldleading growth of this cohort even further, expanding our competitive advantage, and attracting investors worldwide.

Like so many U.S. Latinos, my family roots in this country go back 500 years, well before the Mayflower landed. So this month, when I see celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month, I personally am celebrating the United States of America, and with the latest facts and data about what the U.S. Latino cohort means for my country, this is a celebration and opportunity from which all Americans should enjoy and benefit.

Gross Domestic Product Growth: 2017 to 2018